I am a researcher and writer with degrees from major academic institutions in the UK and abroad. I have specialised in many subjects including Philosophy, General Sciences and Behavioural Sciences. I have written more than 400 articles and research projects and I have extensive experience in research and writing. My areas of interest are psychology, philosophy, management, and general sciences. I can write on many subjects and apart from academic writing, I have interests in corporate writing, travel writing and creative writing.

Sample 1

The Role of the State in Protecting Home Markets

Executive Summary:
Within the context of international business and globalisation, the role of the state in protecting home markets has been highlighted to examine the increasing influence of multinational companies on local markets. However the influence of MNCs goes beyond economic effects and MNCs may have a major influence on political and social policies of states. The positive and negative aspects of globalisation are discussed from an empirical, social and historical perspective.
Introduction:
The role of the state in development of neo-liberal economies relates to changes in the international markets, global economy and trade patterns. The theories on the role of the state in globalisation and development could be integrated with global political economy. The internalisation process involves liberalising the economy with cooperation of institutions at the global and regional level and trans-nationalisation processes associated with civil societies. Hveem (2002) argues that globalisation is a complex processes and is made of conflicting sub-processes and that only by breaking up globalisation into its elements is it possible to find new agencies and options for alliance building across national boundaries between nations.

Globalisation relates to international markets and international business as it refers to the connectedness of production and communication around the world. With globalisation phenomena, technologies and products are shared across the world and new laws and regulations guide global trade patterns. Globalisation could be labelled not just a phenomenon but a pattern, a force and revolution in trading and is marked by speed of communication and exchange, complexity of networks, volume of trade, size of products, interaction and risks in trade. However, globalisation is much more than diffusion of technologies, products, ideas and innovations or liberalisation of markets and internationalisation. Globalisation involves change in geography, and the way we experience local markets and trends. In this analysis we discuss the different aspects of international business trends and globalisation from the perspective of state policies and effects on local markets.

Globalisation – Aspects and Studies
According to Giddens (1990), globalisation is the “intensification of worldwide social relations which links distant localities in such a way that local events are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa” (p.64). Globalisation thus has social, economic, political implications and has the features of territoriality, speed of technology, creation of global free markets and rise of multinational corporations.

Multinational companies have a definite impact on local communities as they exploit cheap labour and although MNCs can bring in wealth for such local communities, there may be significant inequalities as although MNCs bring large scale employment, the wages given to members of local communities are minimal. Multinationals identify different target groups and try to increase sales by creating new needs and products. Considering the impact of multinational companies on local markets and sales, the government regulations to protect the local markets are important and play a major role in achieving a balance between sales of local and international products.

Shin (2000) argues that the state plays a role in affecting social policy through economic changes. Globalisation has brought in global regulations and increased economic integration although it places a constraint on the discretion of the nation state bringing in an economic and industrial transformation towards a more competitive state. States compete with each other to attract FDI or foreign direct investment from international capital markets and this helps to promote competitiveness within the local and global markets. Competition between international companies and local companies influences not such economic changes but triggers in social policy as for example Shin (2000) writes that welfare states may need to reform their social policy towards business-friendly social policies with the entry of international competitors. The welfare state policies are geared towards a market-conforming policy on business taxation, providing for social protection revenues, using income security programmes and allocation of resources for active labour market programmes and reduced state intervention. Changes in social policy triggered by globalisation and in accordance with globalisation needs are seen as responses of welfare states to meet the evolving needs of international business caused by structural changes in the market.

Global corporations are not just focused on policies related to competence and business performance but play a key role in local and global issues of human rights and environmental policies. Thus by investing in local and global communities on a long-term basis MNCs can develop public trust and demonstrate their presence and social concerns within poorer countries and emerging market economies. Globalisation does not always prove or support that the rich get richer and poor gets poorer as globalisation provides its opportunities and corporations can be agents of progress for a nation.
Navarro et al. (2004) discuss the implications of globalisation on the welfare state in a related study and analyse the evolution of welfare states in most OECD countries during the pre-globalisation and globalisation era. The effects of globalisation on the welfare state show that globalisation has led to the convergence of a smaller welfare state which is funded by labour, property and consumption rather than capital. Navarro et al. claim that social public expenditures and public employment have increased in the era of globalisation despite indications of negative trends. So the possibilities of negative effects of globalisation on the welfare state seem to be minimal also because welfare states remain rooted in political traditions that govern state policies. Thus a global economic and social policy and a tradition of political economy seem to determine the function of welfare states although globalisation as a phenomenon may not have any negative influence on the concept of welfare state.

Thompson (2003) has discussed globalisation as a total commercialisation of politics by suggesting that globalisation has been built on corporate takeover of economic, political, social and cultural life. Thus globalised economies are commercialised economies completely controlled by multinational companies in all aspects of life. Global capitalism seems to dictate and create consumption habits and also influences state policies that are focused on gaining commercial interests. Considering the fact that states also derive commercial gain from globalisation and an open market policy, the state interests in protecting home markets purely for welfare may be under scrutiny.
To understand the effects of globalisation on national policies, state control and institutions, Nordhaug (2002) focuses on theories to study issues of financial liberalisation in emerging economies. These theories tend to differ according to causal influences on national policies and the five levels of impact of globalisation are related to national political influence; trans-national economic influence; international, trans-national and global political influences. Nordhaug suggests that all these levels of theoretical perspectives may have to be considered while dealing with the impact of globalisation on national policies.

Globalisation brings about commodification of life, expands the scope of multinational companies and may have implications on quality of life. Brand culture is an offshoot of globalised market trends with multinationals replacing local markets and brands. Multinationals not only influence the local markets and economic patterns but also influence social policy changes within national governments and transnational bodies such as the EU and World Bank. Multinational companies thus have a certain degree of control over globalised economies and social institutions. Globalisation aims to expand market relations, reduce state and interstate interference, and create a global free market. According to Hirst and Thompson (1999), international business is largely confined to home territory in terms of business activity and by being nationally embedded they continue to remain multinational rather than trans-national corporations. However the patterns of changes in foreign-controlled turnover as a ratio for domestic turnover shows local market conditions and is given as a graph below. The graph by OECD shows foreign-controlled turnover has been increasing for Scandinavian countries and also the United Kingdom (OECD, accessed 2006).

Rigman and Girod (2003) give an empirical study of 49 of the world’s largest retail multinational enterprises or MNEs and one of these is considered as a global MNE and five are considered bi-regional with twenty per cent sales in the EU, NAFTA and Asia. The remaining MNEs studied are domestic with sales in the home-triad market. The study showed that most MNEs are neither global nor do they have global strategies and are mainly regional MNEs so their focus is local market oriented. This study shows that despite the impact of globalisation, most MNEs operate within the local markets and thus affect local sales rather than global sales. Thus state regulations to protect home markets from being replaced by MNEs may well be founded on grounds of exaggerated effects of globalisation and international business.

According to Agmon (2003) the interface between national states and MNEs result in globalisation and is a negotiated solution rather than a market equilibrium. In a global liberalised market, national states aim to generate welfare and wealth for their residents and MNEs try to maximise value. State control to protect home markets is also guided by the motivation to aid residents’ earning potential and welfare. The income distributional effects of globalisation highlight the role of the state and the MNE although there may be a need for a proper calculated strategy and optimal solution for identifying elements of bargain. Carr et al. (2000) studied effects of global and international business on home-based workers and local communities.

The study claims that globalisation presents both threats and opportunities for women who work within the informal sector and uses the example of women who work in informal employment. Some of these organisations are Home Net and Global Markets Program and the study analyses the impact of globalisation on labour relations and other market transactions within the framework of home-based workers and global value chains. Agricultural products, manufactured goods, non-timber forest products are the products identified which show the uneven distribution of power and emphasis on the importance of home-based workers both locally and internationally. In another case study, Carr and Garcia (2003) used a Spanish case study to argue that strategic implications from globalisation are not so defined for executives in local companies and are more appropriate for strategies of MNCs.

The strategic choices of local companies are constrained by limited resources and distinctive evolutionary paths and alternative theoretical perspectives. Thus international business strategy is based on theoretical perspectives such as Porter’s analysis emphasising market power and market positioning although the recent trend in analysing global business has been focused on competence and resource-based perspectives with the emphasis on internal issues of technology and control of market factors. Competence, resource base and technology are some of the issues pertinent to MNCs although resource-based considerations are most important for local companies. The strategic priorities of local independent companies seem to be different from MNCs although both types of companies shift their strategic emphasis as globalisation proceeds towards an evolved stage highlighting the need for a dynamic perspective. Future policy shifts of companies seem to be focused in terms of their exposure and response to globalisation.

Conclusion:
The effects of globalisation and international business relate to changes in social and economic policy, global trade, national politics and changing market trends. Globalisation changes the labour pattern within a nation and may bring about both opportunities and threats. Opportunities of globalisation would relate to opening up of the market with a huge number of job additions and new recruits. Threats relate to changes within the structure of the domestic market that may face increased competition from global companies. The role of the state in protecting the interests of the local workers relates to the concept of the welfare state in which the state protects the welfare and wealth of residents against external forces. Globalisation is in itself considered a force that is capable of changing local and national markets although some studies have suggested that most MNCs tend to operate within their national markets and thus MNCs may not impose a direct or immediate threat to local products. Along with this we have also analysed that states seem to have commercial interests in a free international market policy as MNCs affect economic, social and political concerns of nation states.

Bibliography
Agmon T. (2003) Who gets what: the MNE, the national state and the distributional effects of globalization, Journal of International Business Studies, Volume 34, Number 5, pp. 416-427(12)
Browne J. (2002). The Role of Multinational Corporations in Economic & Social Development of Poor Countries: Leading Toward a Better World? Corporate Environmental Strategy, Volume 9, Number 3, pp. 217-225(9)
Bieler A.; Morton A.D. (2003). Globalisation, the state and class struggle: a ‘Critical Economy’ engagement with Open Marxism, British Journal of Politics and International Relations, Volume 5, Number 4, pp. 467-499(33)
Childs, David (2005). Between State Capitalism and Globalisation: The Collapse of the East German Economy, English Historical Review, Volume 120, Number 488, pp. 1107-1108(2)
Carr M.; Chen M.A.; Tate J. (2000). Globalization and Home-Based Workers, Feminist Economics, Volume 6, Number 3, 1, pp. 123-142(20)
Carr C.; Garcia C.-E. (2003). Globalisation and Strategic Choice: How Multinational and Local Company Perspectives Differ: - A Spanish Case Study, European Management Journal, Volume 21, Number 6, pp. 671-685(15)
Crafts N. (2004). Globalisation and Economic Growth: A Historical Perspective, The World Economy, Volume 27, Number 1, pp. 45-58(14) Blackwell Publishing
Giddens, A. (1990). The Consequences of Modernity, Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Greve B. (2003). Introduction: the end of the welfare state? The European Legacy, Volume 8, Number 5, pp. 557-558(2)
Hveem H. (2002). Globalisation, Governance and Development: A Political Economy Perspective, The European Journal of Development Research, Volume 14, Number 1, pp. 219-243(25)
Mosley, Layna (2005). Globalisation and the state: Still room to move? New Political Economy, Volume 10, Number 3, pp. 355-362(8), Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group
Navarro V.; Schmitt J.; Astudillo J. (2004). Is globalisation undermining the welfare state? Cambridge Journal of Economics, Volume 28, Number 1, pp. 133-152(20)
Nordhaug K. (2002). Globalisation and the State: Theoretical Paradigms, The European Journal of Development Research, Volume 14, Number 1, pp. 5-27(23)
Peng M.W. (2001). The resource-based view and international business, Journal of Management, Volume 27, Number 6, pp. 803-829(27)
Rugman A.; Girod S. (2003). Retail Multinationals and Globalization: - The Evidence is Regional, European Management Journal, Volume 21, Number 1, pp. 24-37(14), Elsevier Science
Shin D-M. (2000).Economic Policy and Social Policy: Policy-linkages in an Era of Globalisation, International Journal of Social Welfare, Volume 9, Number 1, pp. 17-30(14)
Kanishka Jayasuriya (2004). The new regulatory state and relational capacity, Policy & Politics, Volume 32, Number 4, pp. 487-501(15)
THOMPSON G.F. (2003). Globalisation as the Total Commercialisation of Politics? New Political Economy, Volume 8, Number 3, , pp. 401-408(8)
Paul Q. Hirst, Grahame Thompson (1999). Globalization in Question: The International Economy and the Possibilities of Governance, Polity Press; 2nd Rev edition
Weiss, Linda (2005). The state-augmenting effects of globalisation, New Political Economy, Volume 10, Number 3, September, pp. 345-353(9), Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group
OECD – Measuring Globalisation , accessed 2006-02-14 http://www.oecd.org/department/0,2688,en_2649_34443_1_1_1_1_1,00.html

Appendix I:


Source: OECD, accessed, 2006-02-14 (Measuring Globalisation)

Sample 2

Principles of Diabetes Care

Introduction:

The NHS and Department of Health have focused on implementing certain standards in diabetes care and these show the changes in clinical practice that need to be followed (DH; 2001). The clinical manifestations of diabetes is in high levels of glucose in the blood and inability to produce insulin which results in lack of energy and long-term health problems for the individuals that could result in damage of blood vessels. This discussion is focused on planning; implementation and evaluation of changes within clinical practice particularly with reference to insulin injection techniques and would use the clinical framework of diabetes care to understand the implications of practice providing the recommendations and action plan for improving diabetes care.

NHS Standards of Clinical Practice

An overview of the standards of clinical practice with regard to diabetes care shows that a strict focus on improving clinical services by providing comprehensive health-care to patients could help in effective implementation of health-care objectives. The standards of clinical practice with regard to diabetes care state that following protocols for diabetes management would be very important for the NHS services and effective implementation of insulin as a treatment method would also form a crucial aspect of these protocols.

The standards are based on the considerations that the NHS will develop, implement and monitor strategies to reduce risks of diabetes and would also seek to identify people who are not aware that they have diabetes. The NHS aims to empower people with diabetes and to provide a service for young people and adults with diabetes that would help them to adopt and maintain a healthy lifestyle. The NHS also states that all adults with diabetes should receive high-quality care including enough support to optimise control of their blood glucose and blood pressure (DH; 2001). Children and young people with diabetes are also given high-quality care and support to optimise their physical; psychological; intellectual and educational development. The NHS emphasises that all young people with diabetes should experience a smooth transition of care from paediatric diabetes services to adult diabetes services during the most appropriate time. The management of diabetes emergencies is also one of the clinical standards laid out and the NHS has to develop, implement and monitor on agreed protocols for effective treatment of diabetic emergencies by trained health-care professionals (DH; 2001; DH 2003). The management of acute diabetic complications and minimising risks of recurrence are some of the major aspects of clinical care in diabetes. One of the clinical standards also suggest that all children and young people with diabetes and admitted to hospitals should receive effective care for their diabetes and they should also be involved in the decision-making process that deals with the overall management of the condition. The standard 9 on the clinical care of diabetes during pregnancy suggests that the NHS will develop and monitor policies seeking to empower and support women with diabetic conditions present before or during pregnancy (DH; 2001). To avoid long-term complications; all young people should receive regular surveillance provided by the NHS. The NHS also seeks to develop and monitor agreed protocols and systems of care to ensure that all people with long-term diabetic complications receive timely and appropriate treatment to reduce risks of disability and even premature death. The Department of Health also emphasises that all people with diabetes and requiring multi-agency support should receive integrated social- and health-care (DH; 2003).

Considering the standards of clinical care; it would be important to understand the difference between clinical standards as should be followed and clinical standards that are followed in NHS trusts and hospital units. Audits done in hospital settings and clinical assessment of standards followed in the hospitals show the gap between principles and practice. Methods of change in clinical standards and practice in diabetes management could be suggested on the basis of failures noted in implementation of these standards or general flaws in actual practice of the standards set. One of the main aspects of clinical standards is related to the effectiveness of the applications of insulin therapy. Newer methods of therapy could be recommended for effective diabetes management.

As Korytkowski et al. (2005) have suggested diabetes management is largely affected by poor adherence or adaptation to insulin therapy. The reasons of poor adherence to insulin therapy may not always be clinical causes and can be associated with social embarrassment; fear of injection; intolerance to pain; needle anxiety, and social and physical inconvenience. To overcome these difficulties of administration and application and to ease patient anxiety or pain, other newer techniques of delivery and additional choices and features of insulin delivery devices are being investigated. Korytkowski et al. (2005) describe the features, efficacy, advantages and disadvantages of insulin pen devices or Flex Pen which is a disposable pen device used for insulin therapy. The results of their study indicated that as many as 65% of patients with diabetes were not confident in their ability to manage the disease by themselves and indicated that they do require professional clinical advice although only 23% indicated that insulin therapy would be effective for management of their disease. Methods of injection used for insulin administration were found to create anxiety in 25% of patients and most other problems associated with insulin administration have been related to fear of injection, fear of pain, weight gain, hypoglycaemia, feelings of failure and lack of motivation. The study reported that insulin pen devices are convenient and flexible for therapy and help patients to overcome needle anxiety and social embarrassment associated with more regular methods of insulin injection. Korytkowski et al. suggest that using pen devices may help improve adherence to insulin dosing schedules as this can overcome the major obstacles associated with compliance to multiple injection schedules.

Insulin Injection and Clinical Practice

Within the context of the standards of clinical practice for diabetes management; the changes in practice could be recognised and implementation methods could be evaluated with the help of research studies.

Gelling et al. (2006) investigated the role of insulin action in the brain during the treatment processes of diabetes and determined whether the brain requires the neuronal signalling for lowering glucose content when insulin treatment is given for diabetes. For uncontrolled diabetes, the results showed that hypothalamic signalling was reduced. In the acute and chronic infection treatment paradigm, the rate of insulin-induced glucose lowering was 35%-40%. The results showed that hypothalamic insulin signalling would be a key factor in determining the response of an individual to insulin and in the overall successful management of uncontrolled diabetes. This would provide us with key insights into the insulin injection process and would help us to understand the brain mechanisms responsible for diabetes control. Understanding brain mechanisms and insulin action triggered by brain changes is an important aspect of diabetes care. Considering the NHS standards of care specified for diabetes, we could suggest that appropriate insulin administration would be an important part of agreed protocols that should be followed in diabetes care. Certain changes within clinical practice would relate to introducing newer techniques of insulin therapy.

Plum et al. (2003) describe newer insulin therapies for management of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Their study provides an overview of the two types of diabetes and also reviews and evaluates the newer types of insulin therapies that are used for treatment of such patients. The newer insulin products such as insulin glargine and insulin aspart; and other novel insulin therapies were studied in terms of formulations; dosing and administration and adverse effects; storage; applications and costs. Plum et al. highlighted the fact that although diabetes patients are largely dependent on insulin products, there are no products that can lead to natural endogenous insulin secretion in patients and insulin has to be administered externally. Administration of insulin has shown problems of variable or selective absorption, hypoglycemic events, inadequate duration of response and timing difficulties. Although insulin analogues used help in overcoming such problems, novel insulin formulations which can be taken orally or even inhaled are being investigated to help make the process easier for patients. As of now; insulin glargine and insulin aspart are the latest clinically approved products for managing diabetes and tend to offer clinical benefits to the patients. However there are certain advantages in these newer types of insulin which may have to be evaluated against increased costs of these newer therapies. Changes to traditional forms of insulin therapy are necessary considering medical complications in patients who react adversely to insulin injections. Newer more sophisticated products that could be easily absorbed and also easily administered would be necessary for successful insulin therapy of diabetic conditions. One of the major focuses for changes in clinical practice would be on updating and improving insulin therapy techniques with emphasis on introducing simpler and more effective techniques.

Heinemann and Anderson (2004) point out that it would be important to understand the course of action of therapeutically used short- and long-acting insulin to determine the factors related to the successful outcomes of the therapy. The euglycemic glucose clamp technique has been used to determine the pharmacokinetic and glucodynamic properties of insulin and the study highlights that new insulin formulation and applications techniques should be tested rigorously for their effectiveness. Heinemann and Anderson suggest that investigational approaches limited to determining the pharmacokinetic properties of insulin preparations using blood glucose level decrease measures may not produce valid results. The new glucose clamp technique as suggested is effective for a quantitative study of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of insulin preparations under comparative conditions (also in Cernea et al.; 2004).

Considering the changes necessary for better and more effective management in clinical care of diabetes, Venekamp et al. (2006) suggest the use of a new reusable insulin injection pen known as HumaPen Memoir (HPM) , similar to Korytkowski et al’s study on the Flex Pen. The electronic feature helps to store 16 insulin doses in its memory card. Venekamp et al. studied the functionality and acceptance of this device as a new method for insulin therapy and their study indicated that there were no reports of adverse effects and no hypoglycaemic or hyperglycaemic episodes were reported. This new insulin pen was rated higher than the other techniques used for diabetes suggesting possible benefits to its extended use.

Conclusions and Recommendations:

Considering the reports and studies on the changing effectiveness of diabetes management, it is important to highlight the uses of the new devices that could be used for meeting clinical standards and objectives. The focus of clinical care is effective patient service and management and using new technologies to overcome the general obstacles of needle anxiety, apprehension and pain could be a recommended strategy for improvement of health-care services.

The recommendations for improving health-care and maintaining clinical standards in the management of diabetes could be given as:
1. use of technologically advanced and superior devices to make the insulin injection process simpler and effective;
2. use of better and newer methods for advanced insulin therapy;
3. effective support and counselling to patients who show aversion for insulin treatment; and
4. focusing on long-term care and support to help reduce long-term effects of diabetes to encourage a full, healthy and socially productive lifestyle.

Bibliography

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Cernea S; Kidron M; Wohlgelernter J; Modi P; Raz I. (2004). Comparison of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of single-dose oral insulin spray and subcutaneous insulin injection in healthy subjects using the euglycemic clamp technique. Clin Ther. Dec;26(12):2084-91.
Gelling RW; Morton GJ; Morrison CD; Niswender KD; Myers MG Jr; Rhodes CJ; Schwartz MW. (2006). Insulin action in the brain contributes to glucose lowering during insulin treatment of diabetes. Cell Metab. Jan;3(1):67-73.
Heinemann L; Anderson JH Jr. (2004). Measurement of insulin absorption and insulin action. Diabetes Technol Ther. Oct;6(5):698-718.
Plum MB; Sicat BL; Brokaw DK. (2003) Newer insulin therapies for management of type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Consult Pharm. May;18(5):454-65.
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Venekamp WJ; Kerr L; Dowsett SA; Johnson PA; Wimberley D; McKenzie C; Malone J; Milicevic Z. (2006). Functionality and acceptability of a new electronic insulin injection pen with a memory feature. Curr Med Res Opin. Feb;22(2):315-25.
Department of Health; 2003. National Service Framework for Diabetes: Delivery Strategy, Crown Copyright
Department of Health; 2001. NSF Diabetes, Crown Copyright